In the excellent book "Enchantment" by Guy Kawasaki, Chapter 6 is entitled "How To Overcome Resistance." I thought I'd outline Mr. Kawasaki's insights into why people are reluctant and make some points about timeshare.
* Inertia-People don't like to do things differently. They've been renting hotel rooms for years and years and are either satisfied with the status quo and/or lazy.
* Hesitation to reduce options. As hard as it is for people in the timeshare industry to believe, there are MANY consumers out there who don't know/understand about exchanging, Those people look at a timeshare as a huge reduction in their vacation options. Couple this with the fact that many timeshare salespeople oversell the exchange option so badly that people don't believe ANY of it.
* Fear of making a mistake. Closely tied to inertia. Consumers don't like to think they've made a mistake, so oftentimes they don't do anything differently. While renting a hotel room may in fact be a mistake for them, purchasing a timeshare seems like a bigger choice and therefore a larger potential mistake.
* Lack of role models. I've been saying for years now that timeshare needs a credible spokesperson. And by "credible spokesperson" I don't mean Alan Thicke, Rosanne Barr and/or David Faustino; all of which have tried and failed.
* Your cause sucks. No, I don't think timeshare sucks. But I do think that things have to change; and change in a hurry if we are to capture the Gen Xs and other younger demographics out there.
Thankfully, Guy Kawasaki points out solutions to these problems. Before I talk about his solutions, I'm curious to hear your thoughts and your ideas for solutions.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The Four Pillars Of Branding
I recently read something that included the four pillars of branding and as usual, it got me thinking about the timeshare industry.
The four pillars of branding are:
KNOWLEDGE
ESTEEM
RELEVANCE
DIFFERENTIATION
I don't know about you, but I would not give the timeshare industry in general a grade much above a C- on these pillars.
How much do you as an owner know about timeshare? How much does the salesperson? How much does the ordinary non-timeshare owner know? It's true that the people at the top of the industry know a LOT. I've said it before and I'll say it again...knowing something and doing something with that knowledge are two different things.
Are timeshare owners held in esteem? Are timeshare salespersons held in esteem? How many people in timeshare tell their friends, relatives and acquaintenances that they are in "vacation", "real estate", or something else rather than acknowledging and being proud to say "timeshare"?
Is timeshare relevant today? From the number of non-timeshare companies at timeshare industry events, I would have to question that. The same old marketing and sales techniques are certainly NOT relevant to today's consumer. The very product (deeded for life) may not be relevant anymore. The recent conventions that I've attended prove that even the people in the industry know that change is necessary.
How are timeshares different from travel clubs, hotels, motels, etc.? It depends on who you ask. Consumers seem to think that timeshares are less flexible and more expensive than other vacation alternatives...certainly NOT what the timeshare industry wants them to believe. When a family can stay at a timeshare resort for a week for less than a timeshare owner's annual fee to own at that resort, I have to wonder where the differentition comes into play.
Again, I don't claim to have all the answers. This blog is nothing more than a sounding board and a invitation to converse and exchange ideas.
The four pillars of branding are:
KNOWLEDGE
ESTEEM
RELEVANCE
DIFFERENTIATION
I don't know about you, but I would not give the timeshare industry in general a grade much above a C- on these pillars.
How much do you as an owner know about timeshare? How much does the salesperson? How much does the ordinary non-timeshare owner know? It's true that the people at the top of the industry know a LOT. I've said it before and I'll say it again...knowing something and doing something with that knowledge are two different things.
Are timeshare owners held in esteem? Are timeshare salespersons held in esteem? How many people in timeshare tell their friends, relatives and acquaintenances that they are in "vacation", "real estate", or something else rather than acknowledging and being proud to say "timeshare"?
Is timeshare relevant today? From the number of non-timeshare companies at timeshare industry events, I would have to question that. The same old marketing and sales techniques are certainly NOT relevant to today's consumer. The very product (deeded for life) may not be relevant anymore. The recent conventions that I've attended prove that even the people in the industry know that change is necessary.
How are timeshares different from travel clubs, hotels, motels, etc.? It depends on who you ask. Consumers seem to think that timeshares are less flexible and more expensive than other vacation alternatives...certainly NOT what the timeshare industry wants them to believe. When a family can stay at a timeshare resort for a week for less than a timeshare owner's annual fee to own at that resort, I have to wonder where the differentition comes into play.
Again, I don't claim to have all the answers. This blog is nothing more than a sounding board and a invitation to converse and exchange ideas.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Research Shows...
A recent survey by the Ypartnership/Harrison Group 2011 Portrail of American Travelers showed some interesting things:
* 77% of those surveyed reported that they had become a much smarter shopper thanks to today's economic situation
* Among those travelers who use the Internet to either get travel information or make a reservation, 84% say that the ability to check the lowest fares/rates is the most important feature, followed by 82% who say that it's the lowest price/rate guarantee
* 70% of leisure travelers state that they have have taken a "celebratatory vacation" in the last year, to coincide with a birthday, anniversary, etc.
These findings beg these questions (and many more):
* If 77% thought they had become a much smarter shopper, why does a company who does nothing but take timeshare deeds and several thousand dollars from timeshare owners who don't know any better make more than $44 million in one year?
* If 84% of travelers use the Internet to check fares and rates, why aren't "new" timeshare prices readily available for comparison?
* If more than 70% of travelers take a celebratory vacation, doesn't it stand to reason that people DO in fact wake up one day with the intention of going on a vacation and DON'T those celebratory vacations frequently occur?
As I've stated before, the research has already been done...the timeshare industry has ALL the tools to bring this product to far more people than it has. Who is going to take the lead?
* 77% of those surveyed reported that they had become a much smarter shopper thanks to today's economic situation
* Among those travelers who use the Internet to either get travel information or make a reservation, 84% say that the ability to check the lowest fares/rates is the most important feature, followed by 82% who say that it's the lowest price/rate guarantee
* 70% of leisure travelers state that they have have taken a "celebratatory vacation" in the last year, to coincide with a birthday, anniversary, etc.
These findings beg these questions (and many more):
* If 77% thought they had become a much smarter shopper, why does a company who does nothing but take timeshare deeds and several thousand dollars from timeshare owners who don't know any better make more than $44 million in one year?
* If 84% of travelers use the Internet to check fares and rates, why aren't "new" timeshare prices readily available for comparison?
* If more than 70% of travelers take a celebratory vacation, doesn't it stand to reason that people DO in fact wake up one day with the intention of going on a vacation and DON'T those celebratory vacations frequently occur?
As I've stated before, the research has already been done...the timeshare industry has ALL the tools to bring this product to far more people than it has. Who is going to take the lead?
Monday, August 29, 2011
Five and Almost 10 With...Alain Carr
Today we meet Alain Carr, President of CARE (Cooperative Association for Resort Exchangers).
What was your first job in timeshare?
My first exposure to timeshare was working as a sales representative for Lifetime Vacations. We were selling the Royal Kuhio on the island of Oahu. Our store was offsite, actually located in the western suburbs of Chicago.
What is the best lesson that you have ever been taught?
One of my favorite lessons that I have learned in my life is that the man than can teach ten to work is greater than the man that can do the work of ten.
What is your favorite vacation destination? I would to say that my favorite vacation ever was visiting Austria with my mother and children. My mother lives just outside Munich si we picked her up and headed down just past Salzburg and it was magnificent. My little girls who were just 4 and 6 at the time came back with real life knowledge that castles really DO exist. And once upon a time there were kings and queens and little princesses.
If you could change one thing about the timeshare industry, what would it be?
What is your favorite color?
What was your first job in timeshare?
My first exposure to timeshare was working as a sales representative for Lifetime Vacations. We were selling the Royal Kuhio on the island of Oahu. Our store was offsite, actually located in the western suburbs of Chicago.
What is the best lesson that you have ever been taught?
One of my favorite lessons that I have learned in my life is that the man than can teach ten to work is greater than the man that can do the work of ten.
I would change the resale industry. So many use such negativity to take a desperate family’s rights from them, sometime costing thousands of dollars which poisons the waters for anyone to sell or resell anything. Al it has always been true, but especially now in his economy, the best thing you can do with your timeshare is use it.
My favorite has to be red. It represents passion and it gets attention.
Thanks Alain. If you would like to be featured in this segment, drop us a line at lisa@timeshareinsights.com
Friday, August 26, 2011
DVC "Issues"
By now, everyone has heard of Disney Vacation Club's issues with their new resort in Hawaii. President Jim Lewis and two other executives were fired from Disney and sales of the new timeshare resort have been halted for more than a month now.
On the surface, this does not seem like good news for anyone except the mainstream media, ever anxious to pounce on any bad news with the word timeshare. I don't think for a minute that I know the details of what went on (or didn't go on) to cause the DVC problems. Some people believe it had to do with legal filings, others believe it has to do with surprisingly low annual fees to support such a project. I strongly believe that Disney Vacation Club will do the right thing with owners and in the end, their Hawaii project will be a success.
But the greater good that I think will come out of this story is that consumers everywhere will start to ask more and more pertinent questions before purchasing ANY timeshare, Disney or other. Some of those questions have to do with the annual fees, some have to do with developer control and others have to do with the difference between a "new" and "used" timeshare.
Don't get me wrong, I think that DVC is a good thing for some consumers to buy, however, for too long, DVC and some other brand names were thought of as somehow better than a small, independent timeshare and that is just not true. Consumers and the media need to know that with more than 6,000 timeshare resorts worldwide (almost 1,700 in the United States), this is too big an industry to make broad generalizations based on a name only.
We'll be talking more about the questions that consumers need to ask before buying any timeshare in the next few weeks. If you have any you'd like to include, let us know. And if you are an owner at DVC's resort in Hawaii, drop us a note and let us know how things are going.
On the surface, this does not seem like good news for anyone except the mainstream media, ever anxious to pounce on any bad news with the word timeshare. I don't think for a minute that I know the details of what went on (or didn't go on) to cause the DVC problems. Some people believe it had to do with legal filings, others believe it has to do with surprisingly low annual fees to support such a project. I strongly believe that Disney Vacation Club will do the right thing with owners and in the end, their Hawaii project will be a success.
But the greater good that I think will come out of this story is that consumers everywhere will start to ask more and more pertinent questions before purchasing ANY timeshare, Disney or other. Some of those questions have to do with the annual fees, some have to do with developer control and others have to do with the difference between a "new" and "used" timeshare.
Don't get me wrong, I think that DVC is a good thing for some consumers to buy, however, for too long, DVC and some other brand names were thought of as somehow better than a small, independent timeshare and that is just not true. Consumers and the media need to know that with more than 6,000 timeshare resorts worldwide (almost 1,700 in the United States), this is too big an industry to make broad generalizations based on a name only.
We'll be talking more about the questions that consumers need to ask before buying any timeshare in the next few weeks. If you have any you'd like to include, let us know. And if you are an owner at DVC's resort in Hawaii, drop us a note and let us know how things are going.
Friday, August 19, 2011
It's Supposed To Be Vacation, Not Work
I hear you. Over and over and over again, I hear from timeshare owners who simply don't want to get involved in their resort's HOA or in any timeshare issues. And there is one reason...these people purchased their timeshare because they wanted a carefree vacation...NOT an ongoing involvment in HOAs, board members, rules, and/or budgets.
But the fact is that timeshare owners MUST get involved in these issues or risk the very vacation experiences that brought them to timeshare to begin with. You only have to talk to owners of The Manhattan Club, Simpson Bay, Diamond Resorts, Celebration World Resort etc. to find out what I mean.
So, what is the answer? I don't know. I do know that timeshare owners continue to be taken advantage of by timeshare transfer companies, timeshare relief companies, fake timeshare resale companies and yes, by some resort mismanagement. And then there are the owners who simply don't know how to use their timeshare.
Earlier this week, I "Facebooked" about the need for the good guys to put aside some of their differences and work together for a common goal. While it is true that not all of us agree on everything, we do agree on at least 85% of things.
I've been fortunate to work with some of these good guys and I'm extending the olive branch to all of them AND timeshare owners around the world. We're a generally smart group of people, so I'm confident that we can find answer.
We'd love to hear your thoughts.
But the fact is that timeshare owners MUST get involved in these issues or risk the very vacation experiences that brought them to timeshare to begin with. You only have to talk to owners of The Manhattan Club, Simpson Bay, Diamond Resorts, Celebration World Resort etc. to find out what I mean.
So, what is the answer? I don't know. I do know that timeshare owners continue to be taken advantage of by timeshare transfer companies, timeshare relief companies, fake timeshare resale companies and yes, by some resort mismanagement. And then there are the owners who simply don't know how to use their timeshare.
Earlier this week, I "Facebooked" about the need for the good guys to put aside some of their differences and work together for a common goal. While it is true that not all of us agree on everything, we do agree on at least 85% of things.
I've been fortunate to work with some of these good guys and I'm extending the olive branch to all of them AND timeshare owners around the world. We're a generally smart group of people, so I'm confident that we can find answer.
We'd love to hear your thoughts.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
More Things I Learned From Guy Kawasaki's "Reality Check"
There is a short, but powerful chapter in "Reality Check" called The Art of Evangelism. Should be required reading for everyone in any business, not just timeshare...or Macs.
Guy states that, "The key to great evangelism is great innovation. It is easy---almost unavoidable---to catalyze evangelism for a great product. It is hard, almost impossible, to catalyze evangelism for crap. Evangelism, after all, comes from the Greek word for "bringing the good news", not "the crappy news. The important question is, "What are the characteristics of an innovative product or service? The answer is to think DICEE."
Before I continue, let me state so that there is NO doubt in anyone's mind...I believe timeshare is a great product. The industry must simply fix some things, get rid of some people and get out of their own way and I believe that ownership and satisfaction WILL increase dramatically.
Getting back to Mr. Kawasaki's DICEE;
DEEP A great product is deep. It doesn't run out of features and functionality after a few weeks of use. Its creators have anticipated what you'll need once you come up to speed. As your demands get more spophisticated, you discover that you don't need a new product.
INTELLIGENT A great product screams that someone was thinking when she created it. Panasonic, for example, makes a flashlight that takes three battery sizes. This triples the probability that you have a battery that will work. The product's benefits may be obvious when you see it, but someone had an insight to create it.
COMPLETE A great product is more than a physical thing. Documentation counts. Customer service counts. Tech support counts. Consultants and third-party developers count. Online communities count. A great product provides a great total user experience---sometimes despite the company that produces it.
ELEGANT A great product has an elegant user interface. Things work the way you'd think they would. A great product doesn't fight you---it enhances you. Metaphorically, you take it home, plug it in and it works. The first step is to use it, not search for a manual online to teach you how to use it.
EMOTIVE A great product incites you to action. It is so deep, indulgent, complete and elegant that it compels people to tell others about it. They're not necessarily an employee or shareholder of the company that produces it. They're bringing the good news to help others, ot themselves.
Before you say "sure, that's great for a computer or an i{hone, not a timeshare", give it some thought. What can you do to make sure timeshare, or at least your timeshare is "elegant?" How about "emotive?"
The way to get more people to buy, enjoy, love and spread the word about timeshare is to get out of our own way...who is onboard?
Guy states that, "The key to great evangelism is great innovation. It is easy---almost unavoidable---to catalyze evangelism for a great product. It is hard, almost impossible, to catalyze evangelism for crap. Evangelism, after all, comes from the Greek word for "bringing the good news", not "the crappy news. The important question is, "What are the characteristics of an innovative product or service? The answer is to think DICEE."
Before I continue, let me state so that there is NO doubt in anyone's mind...I believe timeshare is a great product. The industry must simply fix some things, get rid of some people and get out of their own way and I believe that ownership and satisfaction WILL increase dramatically.
Getting back to Mr. Kawasaki's DICEE;
DEEP A great product is deep. It doesn't run out of features and functionality after a few weeks of use. Its creators have anticipated what you'll need once you come up to speed. As your demands get more spophisticated, you discover that you don't need a new product.
INTELLIGENT A great product screams that someone was thinking when she created it. Panasonic, for example, makes a flashlight that takes three battery sizes. This triples the probability that you have a battery that will work. The product's benefits may be obvious when you see it, but someone had an insight to create it.
COMPLETE A great product is more than a physical thing. Documentation counts. Customer service counts. Tech support counts. Consultants and third-party developers count. Online communities count. A great product provides a great total user experience---sometimes despite the company that produces it.
ELEGANT A great product has an elegant user interface. Things work the way you'd think they would. A great product doesn't fight you---it enhances you. Metaphorically, you take it home, plug it in and it works. The first step is to use it, not search for a manual online to teach you how to use it.
EMOTIVE A great product incites you to action. It is so deep, indulgent, complete and elegant that it compels people to tell others about it. They're not necessarily an employee or shareholder of the company that produces it. They're bringing the good news to help others, ot themselves.
Before you say "sure, that's great for a computer or an i{hone, not a timeshare", give it some thought. What can you do to make sure timeshare, or at least your timeshare is "elegant?" How about "emotive?"
The way to get more people to buy, enjoy, love and spread the word about timeshare is to get out of our own way...who is onboard?
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